Contents
Discover Angkor Wat
Siem Reap
Angkor
Excursions
Phnom Penh
Background
Essentials
Resources
Index
List of Maps
Discover Angkor Wat
Planning Your Trip
Explore Angkor Wat
THE TEMPLES OF ANGKOR
CAMBODIA’S TOP 10 TEMPLES
THE KHMER EMPIRE IN ONE WEEK
HAPPY NEW YEAR, CAMBODIA STYLE
TWO WEEKS OF KHMER ARCHITECTURE AND HISTORY
ONE DAY IN PHNOM PENH
The first rays of the sun touch the central towers of Angkor Wat. A group of
young monks, their robes a luminous orange, cross the causeway to the world’s
largest religious building. A stone’s throw away, rice paddies and golden temple
roofs shimmer in the morning sun. Old women, their heads hidden under red
headscarves, rest in the shade of giant banyan trees, chewing betel.
In Siem Reap, the town nearest the temples, the smell of fried food wafts
across the street. Monks collect alms and policemen collect bribes. Children
pass on bare feet, laughing. Old men silently sit at roadside cafés, nudging glasses of thick sweet
coffee. After sunset, young lovers race their bikes through darkened, potholed streets, thousands of
insects hover around flickering streetlamps, and sidewalk restaurants are crowded with foreign
visitors and local families.
These could be a visitor’s first impressions of Angkor and Siem Reap, recorded 40 years ago, 15
years ago, even last month. Kampuchea, as the Khmer call their homeland, has a timeless, mysterious,
and somewhat anarchic quality.
I still vividly remember my own first glimpse of Angkor Wat. I was riding a motorcycle along the
wide tree-lined road from the ticket booths toward the temples. Monkeys swung from the trees. A
couple of elephants stood in the shade, waiting for passengers. I turned and followed the road running
parallel to the dark green water toward the causeway. Suddenly, across the moat, I glimpsed the
massive central towers rising out of the dense foliage. It was a pleasant shock, then disbelief at the
temple’s form and sheer size kicked in; the forest ambience induced a personal sense of discovery.
True marvels to behold, the temple ruins of Angkor—stone remnants of the Khmer Empire, which
ruled much of Southeast Asia almost 1,000 years ago—have put Cambodia on the map and attract
more than two million foreign visitors a year. No one leaves disappointed. Add the bustling markets
and lively bars in the capital Phnom Penh, the quiet streets of Battambang, and the only just recently
accessible forest temples away from the main highways, and a journey to Angkor Wat is an adventure,
an experience, a moment in time.
Above and beyond the magnificent sights, visitors are rewarded by the warm welcome of
Cambodia’s people. Despite the country’s tragic recent history, despite poverty and years of isolation,
t h e sourire khmer—the Khmer smile—remains intact. The Khmer are looking toward a peaceful
future with cautious optimism, which makes a visit an experience you are likely to cherish forever.
Planning Your Trip
WHERE TO GO
The temples around Angkor are Southeast Asia’s greatest architectural gems bar none. The
magnificent ruins of the Khmer Empire, located predominantly in the northwest of the country, are
reason enough to visit Cambodia, though the bustling capital of Phnom Penh has come a long way
from dangerous slum-scape to chaotic but quite beautiful riverside city. Cambodia’s many decades of
conflict have ended, and things have returned to a kind of normalcy in the past decade. Armed robbery
of foreigners is virtually unheard of, and unless you are looking for trouble, you are unlikely to find
any. Several remote temples that have lingered in deep forest, virtually forgotten for decades, have
now also become accessible.
Siem Reap
In little more than a decade, Cambodia’s temple town has developed from a few blocks of crumbling
colonial architecture into a bustling tourist mecca. The jumping-off point for the main monuments of the
Angkor Empire keeps on growing, and while this can be a somewhat uneven process, visitors will find
everything they need here—excellent accommodations for all budgets, a huge variety of food that includes
local cuisine and Asian temptations as well as Western fare, plenty of shopping opportunities,
including attractive markets, with a few cultural attractions thrown into the lively mix. Siem Reap
remains the country’s cleanest, safest, and best organized town.
Angkor
Temples, temples, and more temples. Several huge imperial capitals of the Khmer Empire
flourished in the northwest of Cambodia between the 10th and the 15th centuries and ruled Cambodia
as well as large parts of today’s Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Today, only temple ruins, magnificent
dreams in stone, remain, and the Angkor Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is
not only a tourist magnet attracting two million visitors each year but also the spiritual and cultural
heart of Cambodia.
Excursions
Several temple sites and attractive towns have emerged from a long slumber and now welcome
visitors. Battambang, to the south of Siem Reap, is Cambodia’s second city and offers a laid-back
atmosphere, the best circus in Asia, excellent accommodations, and fantastic trips into the
surrounding countryside. Remote temples such as Banteay Chhmar, Koh Ker, Sambor Prei Kuk,
and Preah Vihear have become more accessible in recent years but are less crowded than the main
sites, although this may change in coming years.
a Siem Reap cyclist
Phnom Penh
Cambodia’s capital has come a long way in the last decade, from dangerous backwater to bustling
dynamic boomtown, and it has rediscovered some of its Old World charm in the process. Yes, the
streets are pretty safe, and hundreds of restaurants, bars, and clubs await visitors who can party
around the clock against a background of colonial architecture and Cambodia’s newfound, if grossly
uneven, economic regeneration. Add to that street markets, art galleries, and a few museums doing
a good job at presenting both Cambodia’s Angkor era as well as its more recent catastrophic turmoil.
WHEN TO GO
Cambodia’s climate is tropical year-round, except for the highlands in the northeast where it can get
cool. The best time to visit is in the cool season, between October and early March. But that’s also the
busiest time of year around the Angkor temples. During the hot season, from late March into June,
much of the country turns into a furnace, although Khmer New Year in April is a special experience
anywhere, especially around Angkor. Although it also often rains in November, the rainy season,
from June to September, is a great time to explore the temple ruins, as there are fewer visitors. Some
of the more remote temples could be inaccessible due to the terrible road conditions. In October, head
to Phnom Penh for Bonn Om Tuk, the annual water festival with three-day boat races and a city
bursting at its seams with visitors from the provinces.
BEFORE YOU GO
Passports and Visas
All visitors to Cambodia must have a passport valid for at least six months. It’s possible to apply for
a one-month tourist visa online or in person at any Cambodian embassy or consulate in your own
country or another country. Alternatively, visitors are issued a visa upon arrival at Phnom Penh and
Siem Reap international airports as well as a number of border crossings from Thailand, Laos, and
Vietnam.
Vaccinations
All adults should have up-to-date inoculations for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, and
polio whether they travel or not. Visitors to Cambodia should also be vaccinated against hepatitis A.
Those intending to work in the health sector should get a hepatitis B vaccine. A typhoid shot is
recommended for those who spend a lot of time in rural areas, as is vaccination against Japanese
encephalitis if you plan to spend extended periods in remote rural areas.
Transportation
Distances in Cambodia are short, but the roads, though improving, are bad. The main population
centers are connected by paved highways now, but out in the provinces, it’s graded or ungraded
laterite dirt, which creates dust storms that turn clothes red and destroy cameras. The journey from
Siem Reap to Phnom Penh can be done by plane, boat, bus, or taxi. The rest of the country is
mostly reachable by bus or taxi, although some of the remoter corners of Cambodia, depending on
weather, can only be reached by pickup or 4WD vehicle, or even just by motorcycle (including the
forest temple of Preah Khan, north of Kompong Thom).
apsaras on a pillar in the Bayon, at the center of Angkor Thom
Royal Palace in Phnom Penh
Driving yourself is possible, if risky, given local driving culture, the state of the roads, and the lack
of medical facilities. But it’s also a great adventure driving through Cambodia in or on your own
vehicle, and in most places in the countryside, locals will welcome anyone passing by with open arms.
What to Take
It’s hot and sticky in Cambodia, so it’s perhaps tempting to walk around in shorts or a bikini. Keep in
mind, though, that Cambodia is conservative and locals are genuinely offended and embarrassed by
foreigners letting it all hang out. Light cotton clothing is best. An umbrella comes in handy in the
rainy season. Bring an adapter plug and a current converter. If you plan to spend prolonged periods
in remote areas, invest in a mosquito net.
Explore Angkor Wat
THE TEMPLES OF ANGKOR
The main temples of Angkor can be seen in a day, but that hardly does justice to this UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Three days in Angkor gives you enough time to soak up the main structures at leisure
and get a good impression of the former might of the Khmer culture.
Visitors to the Angkor Archaeological Park use Siem Reap as a base. Tickets to the park are
available at the main entrance on the road from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat. One-day, three-day, and
seven-day tickets are available. One-day tickets are also available at a second entrance off the airport
road.
There are a number of options for getting to the temples (and between the temples)—you can get
around by bicycle, in a tuk-tuk, on the back of a motorbike, or in a taxi or minivan. It takes 20 minutes
to get from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat by motorbike, tuk-tuk, or taxi. On a bicycle it takes about 40
minutes. Whatever mode of transport you choose, be sure to negotiate everything in advance.
One Day in Angkor
One day is not enough to absorb the power and beauty of the Khmer Empire, but it does allow for
some fleeting glimpses of its architectural highlights.
MORNING
Start very early in the morning and catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, then proceed to the South Gate
o f Angkor Thom and enter the royal city to take in the recently restored Baphuon, the intriguing
Terrace of the Leper King with its hidden corridor, and, of course, The Bayon, the most spectacular
structure within the walls of Angkor Thom. The Bayon especially is a dream in stone and features the
famed carved faces of the bodhisattvas, among the most iconic sights of the Khmer Empire.
cyclists at Ta Keo temple
Hall of Dancers at Preah Khan temple
AFTERNOON
Return to Siem Reap and the Old Market for lunch, or proceed to Ta Prohm and grab a bite there
before exploring the forest temple in the early afternoon. Then make your way back to Angkor Wat
for a longer visit before heading to the hilltop temple of Phnom Bakheng for the sunset.
Three Days in Angkor
Three days are enough for most visitors to take in all the major sites in the Angkor Archaeological
Park at leisure.
DAY 1
Start your journey at the South Gate to Angkor Thom and explore the royal city for the rest of the
morning. There is enough time to take a close look at the Bayon (the city’s most spectacular structure)
as well as the Baphuon, the Terrace of the Leper King, the Terrace of the Elephants, and Phimeanakas.
Have lunch at one of the food stalls near the Bayon before heading to the Victory Gate in the
afternoon. Proceed to the fantastic forest temple of Ta Prohm, with a stop at Ta Keo, a simple but
imposing sandstone pyramid, and explore Angkor Wat before catching the sunset inside the temple
complex.
DAY 2
Try for an early morning start and catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat before proceeding to the quiet but
mesmerizing temples of Preah Khan and Neak Pean as well as the temple mountain of Pre Rup and
peaceful Ta Som. Head back to Siem Reap for lunch. In the afternoon, take the 30-minute ride out to
the Roluos Group of temples, the remnants of the first major Khmer capital, and try for the sunset at
Phnom Bakheng if you don’t mind the crowds. (It’s a 30–40-minute ride from Roluos to Phnom